Moving a Kitchen

Moving into a new home is always exciting. Then the reality of moving day suddenly comes upon us and can seem like a hurricane of packing and organizing and letting go of those things that you had moved before but never used since. You want to stay in the eye of that swirling hurricane, but sometimes that's easier said than done (kind of like emotions and challenges during a real estate transaction).

A smart woman that I know had the idea of moving the kitchen first, before the movers came the following week. It was not a cross country move (of course) but just within the same town. She had heard of this before from a friend and it made sense, especially for a gourmet cook moving a gourmet kitchen!

I offered to help in this process (sometimes a realtor's help goes beyond escrow, yes?), and I knew that it may be a learning experience.

The Spice Rack
By knowing the spaces in the new kitchen and the things that needed to be moved, there was an intuitive and common sense approach that worked to get everything organized. For example, I have seen all sorts of spice racks but not the one that was used in this kitchen. It was like a bookshelf that folded out when opened, so it saved space within a cupboard area. There were about four shelves in the white plastic unit with about four racks per shelf. It was easy to alphabetize the spices in the racks for easier reference. You could pull the shelf out and then it pivoted like a door and faced you with the four racks. The only catch was that the hinged part of the shelf need a bit of clearance when it opened, reducing the storage space of about an inch there. Otherwise it was a very efficient and space saving utility for this kitchen.

The pantry was also organized in a way for easier viewing, as were the cupboards and shelves for the pots and pans. A step ladder was needed to access the taller cupboards and shelves as there was a tall ceiling and room for height in this kitchen. On top of the cupboards were placed a number of baskets for decoration and because there was room there to accomodate the space that they took up. I discovered a creative way to increase the storage in this kitchen when everything else was full. The inside of the baskets were empty. This space could be used for kitchen items that were not used as often, not too heavy, and didn't need to be in view. They would be accessible just as the other items in the shelves that needed a step ladder.

Moving the kitchen first seemed to be such a great idea that when moving day came it was already in place, ready to go.  I recommend this strategy for everyone moving within a reasonable driving distance. One more idea - this would also work well for the master bathroom. With these two rooms already set up when you move in, you may experience some of that peaceful eye within that swirling hurricane. :)

Need help with buying or selling a home? I have clients in both the Salem and Eugene area.

David Brown
Licensed Oregon Real Estate Broker
503-302-2333